PROG ROCKERS SEVEN IMPALE COMPLETE WORK ON SOPHOMORE FULL-LENGTH ALBUM

With their 2014 debut album “City of the Sun” earning itself seventh place in the Progarchives.com best albums of the year poll, fans have been curious to hear what SEVEN IMPALE will bring to the table next. And today Karisma Records have announced that “Contrapasso”, the sophomore full-length album from the young Norwegian Prog Rockers, is set for release in the Autumn.

Whilst details are still being kept under wraps, the label had this to say about what to expect: “As you can imagine with such a young band, SEVEN IMPALE have grown a lot since their debut. They have continued to explore the unique sound they started to develop on “City of the Sun”, and, as their confidence has grown, they have taken that sound further, becoming more experimental, and adding complexity and harder soundscapes, along with more catchy and upbeat tracks. Let’s just say that SEVEN IMPALE don’t believe in genre boundaries, and thankfully, they have lost none of their youthful enthusiasm in the process”.

“Contrapasso”, was recorded at the Solslottet Studio, with the band once again calling upon the services of Iver Sandøy, known for his work with bands like ENSLAVED and KRAKOW, to name but a few. “This time our producer, Iver Sandøy, has taken an even bigger part in making decisions regarding the arrangements and instrumentation” commented the band, who went on to explain that “The process of recording this album has been quite different from last time. There have been countless edits and changes from the material we brought with us into the studio. It’s been a long road which has been worth every step, and the result makes it all the more clear why, once again, we chose to work with Iver.

“Early on in the process of creating the album, our vision for “Contrapasso” had much more of a thematic concept, and we think this comes through in the form of a more unified (though quite diverse) album. We’re not going to go too much into the meaning of the lyrics, but you could call it a darker counterpart to “City of the Sun”. Darker not only in concept, but also darker and heavier in sound, but with an even bigger dynamic range. In many ways it’s weirder and more experimental, while still sounding 100% like SEVEN IMPALE.”

Formed in Bergen, Norway in 2010, SEVEN IMPALE’s relatively young lineup consists of Stian Økland on vocals and guitars, Fredrik Mekki Widerøe on drums, Benjamin Mekki Widerøe on sax, Tormod Fosso on bass, Erlend Vottvik Olsen on guitar and Håkon Vinje on keyboards. What sets the band apart from many of the new arrivals on the scene is the sheer diversity of musical disciplines that the members bring with them. From classical orchestra to big band, metal to jazz and rock to electronic, SEVEN IMPALE have fused all their experience and influences and created a sound that is uniquely theirs.